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“She never imagined that fishes could walk!” Author-Illustrator Lori R. Lopez reads her children’s picture book The Mudpuppy! This storytime for kids, presented by Fairy Fly Entertainment, features the artwork painted by artist Lori R. Lopez, music done by her son Noel Lopez, and is read aloud by the author herself.

The Mudpuppy is a tale about a Sea Monster for children of all ages. A girl pokes a stick into a lake and a fish with feet climbs out. This poetic kids book is an amusing fable based on one of the author’s most cherished childhood memories and takes place in Green Lake, Wisconsin. It is an animal story for all ages. Venture with her to the edge of the lake. Don’t forget your stick!

We hope you enjoy it.

 

The Story:

 

“She was lonely that day

At her grandparents’ house.

When she wanted to play,

The others told her, “Get lost!”

 

They weren’t very kind

And said she had rabies.

They hid from her, teasing

That they didn’t play with babies.

 

They said she was small

And would get in their way,

So she went by herself

Down the road to the lake.

 

There she bravely stood still

Peering into the green,

Ere she picked up a stick

To poke something unseen.

 

And the next thing she knew,

She wasn’t alone —

For out of the goo

A creature had shown.

 

A strange-looking fishy

The color of muck;

On four feet it crept

Up the stick that she stuck.

 

It was quite a surprise!

It was really a shock,

For she never imagined

That fishes could walk!

 

So she looked at the creature,

Who looked at her back,

Then she screamed and let go

And ran faster than fast . . .

 

Up the slope to announce

That she saw a sea monster . . .

A slimy thing pounced

From the depths of the water!

 

Grampa listened and guessed,

“It must be a mudpuppy.”

The older kids jeered,

It was probably nothing!

 

“Show us!” they snorted,

So she retraced her tracks

To the edge of the lake,

To the dreadful attack.

 

And she retrieved her stick

But of course it was bare —

No slimy sea beast,

No mud demon was there.

 

The laughter was loud

As she waited with sighs

Under dark swirling clouds,

Wistful tears in her eyes.

 

When they laughed even more,

Which made her face burn,

She stuck in the stick

So her proof could return.

 

She waited and waited

But never thereafter

Would see a mudpup,

Or a sad salamander . . .

 

Who was lonely like her,

Who was seeking a friend,

Who was frightened so much

He won’t come out again.

 

The moral is clear:

Do not venture alone

To a lake or a place

Rather strange and unknown.

 

For whether a child

Or some kind of a fish,

You could be afraid

To get what you wish!”

Spread The Word

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